chapter 24

Kiari Xavier Grey | Ki

Hearing my phone ring, I see it was the prison number so I pick it up.

"Kiari, what's up you ain't been picking up my calls lately." I hear my father's voice through the phone.

"My fault, I've been busy."

"It's alright. How you been?"

"Good." I shrug even though he couldn't see.

I didn't have a problem with my dad too much but I just always know how these calls go.

"That's good. How about Kam? I haven't spoken to her in months. She doesn't even pick up my calls anymore."

"She been good. Maybe it has something to do with school." I say lying. Kam already told me she was done with him.

"Oh ok. Your moms birthday is coming up, are yall going to see her?"

"Yeah we are. I was planning on staying over but I have an early game the next day."

"You still doing basketball? I thought you were trying to focus on making more plays." He said.

"I'm more focused on basketball but I still do it. I just try not to so much cause mom doesn't like it." I said.

"You can't be focused on basketball Kiari. There's no point in doing basketball if you on the streets. That just sound dumb and dumber." He says making me sigh.

My dad wants me to stay in the streets but my mom doesn't. I want to do basketball but byall the money I make by being in the streets makes me want to stay in them but my future is just telling me no. Everything is just frustrating and I wish I never found myself being in them at all.

"I'm trying to think about my future." I mumble.

"Future? I been doing that shit since I was young and made a good living out of it."

"Yeah, but you're now serving life in prison for it now. I'm not trying to be in prison for my whole life. I'm very good at basketball so I will focus on basketball for me, not you."

"Here you go. This why you should of stayed friends with Zeno because I bet he living a very good life but you over here whining about basketball. Only a extremely small amount of people actually make it to the nba and you think you are? Pathetic."

"I think are five minutes are up." I hang up the phone.

I don't have time for anyone's and everyone's opinion about my life and how I am living it.

"Your Dad still be bitching huh." I hear Amaris voice.

"He has to much input in my life when his been went downhill. I don't need any advice from him." I say.

"Just stop picking his calls up. Kam been stopped." Amari shrugs.

"I try but then it's like he's in life so there's no one for him to talk to? He already sounds sad about Kam not answering and I know he misses my mom but she moved on." I huffed.

"Kiari my man, you be being to nice to people who treat you like nothing. Your dad does the same thing every call, be happy when you answer than start to down play you like your nothing." Isaiah says and honestly he's right.

I be having too much faith in people thinking they're going to change but they never do.

"He do have a bipolar disorder so I be trying to give the benefit of the doubt but yall right." I shake my head.

"I'm never wrong. But aye I'm out." Amari daps us up then leaves out the door, and soon as it shut Isaiah was already giving me a look.

I been trying not to talk about what he saw yesterday when it really wasn't nothing forreal but I guess from the way he was standing it may have looked like I was doing something else to her.

"I'm going to the gy- no, no sit. Let's have a civilize conversation." He cuts me off making me huff and sit.

"Ok so first of all I know you wasn't just fingering no fucking Riani in the same pool where I swim my god damn body in-

"Bro we didn't do nothing in the pool. My hand was just between her thigh that's it." I cut him off. I already knew that was gone be the first thing he brings up.

He takes a moment to think before nodding. "Alright I just wanted to make sure." He simply stands up like he didn't just shout at me a second ago.

"You like her don't you." He wiggles his eyebrows.

I never really clicked in my mind that I liked her. I knew I found her attractive but I didn't admit to liking her but after the last few days and me her not talking..I knew I like her, a lot.

"I like her. And no I'm not about to talk to you about this right now." I grab my gym bag and walk out of the door.

I had been working out at the gym for a while trying to get my mind off things. Even about what happened that night on Rianis birthday. As much as I wanted to just have Zeno out my life completely, I just knew I couldn't because that would suck me in even further. Zeno is very known so if i was to do that I just knew his peoples would come after me and everyone I love.

I ain't scared of him or his peoples I even knew where they lived so I could easily have them all gone but I just knew that would suck me in even further while I'm trying to get out. I refrain myself from killing people so when I killed Zeno girlfriend I wanted to make that my first and last and I couldn't just kill Zeno without killing his peoples next. That's some murder type shit and I'm not allat that.

My father was though and for some reason he wants me to follow after him in that lifestyle but just better but I don't see how a 'father figure' would ever want his own son to kill and be at risk for jail.

But all I know is that if Zeno is to ever touch Riani in some weird ass way, imma say fuck all that and that trying to be good shit.

___

"I mean he's still you guys father so y'all shouldn't just ignore him like that but I can't force yall to do something that yall can't do." My mom says from the other side of the phone as me and Kam was on facetime with her.

"Mom you know earlier today Jayson gone tell Kiari that he's pathetic and basically say that he won't ever make it to the nba because he should only focus on the streets." Kam says referring to our dad making me nudge her because why would see she even tell mom that.

My mom immediately looks back at the camera."He what? Oh no I take everything I said back. Kiari you didn't tell me all of that."

"It's no big deal. He always says stuff like that." I shrug not caring. He has a bipolar disorder so nothing he says affects me anymore. When I was younger it did but I stopped caring after a while but of course my mom still thinks it bothers me.

"No big deal? You shouldn't just let him speak to you like that just because you feel sorry that he's in prison. Matter fact stop picking the calls up." My mom says looking serious.

"His words don't affect me, I'm coolin. Stop worrying."

"Kam block the jail number off his phone when you get the time." My mom then looks over to Kam making me roll my eyes.

"Whatever you say mom." Kam tries to take my phone and i quickly grab it back mugging her. Knowing her she'll start snooping.

"Anyways. I have a date to go on so bye bye." She blows a kiss to us then immediately hangs up the phone knowing I'll say something.

"Who told her she was aloud to go on dates." I raise my brow and Kam chuckles but I was serious.

"Riani is coming over but we gone stay in my room." Kam said and I quickly turned my head to her.

"Riani is coming over?" I ask. I haven't spoken to her since the night at the pool and that was dayssssss ago.

Kam looks at me funny. "Yes...why your ugly ass look happy? You like her?" Kam then makes a confused face.

"What? No. I was just asking. You know what, I don't see how you have your own damn dorm and still bring your friends over here." I roll my eyes.

"First of all I have a room in this house and it isn't just yours so I can bring whoever I want." She mugs me.

"You know what, I don't care." I get off of the chair and go up to my room before she piss me off.

___

It's been a few hours as I just layed in my bed on my phone when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." I mumbled.

"Kiari." I heard Riani voice as she closed my door back. I sat up, probably a little too fast but I hoped she didn't notice that.

"Ian know you were still here."

"Me, Isaiah, Kam and Amir were all downstairs that's why I came up here to see why you weren't downstairs since they left to get food." She says.

"I just been up here doing school work." I lied and she just slowly nodded and then it went quiet.

I looked over at her and she looked pretty. She had on a simple plain white long sleeve top that fitted her body, gray flared leggings that fitted her lower body perfectly, Her long hair was loosely curled and she had on a white headband and her edges were perfectly done.

She then looked over at me and pursed her lips. "You didn't come downstairs because of me didn't you? What happened at the pool." She said and she was right.

We were supposed to be friends and even though I wanted to be more I knew she probably didn't. My hands were going to go much further if Isaiah didn't open the door. I wanted her bad but I didn't know what she wanted so I just instead, distanced myself a bit so she wouldn't regret it.

"Yeah. It was wrong of me to do that so I apologize." I said.

"Kiari it's ok, seriously. We still good. We're still friends." She smiles.

Friends. I mean is it not obvious or am I tripping? I wanted her I knew I wanted her and I know by now that it had to be obvious that I liked her. I been hinting it, especially after that day at the pool and she has the nerve to say "friends". I don't know why but as soon as she said that I got pissed.

she's either dumb or she's just friend zoning me and I'm starting to think I'm getting friend zoned.

I lowly chucked and she furrowed her brows confused.

"Why are you laughing?" She nervously starts laughing as well.

"I don't want to be friends." I simply said, standing up and opening the door for her to get out. That 'I don't want to be friends' had two meanings, but if she's friend zoning me, I rather not be friends at all at this point.

"Wait what. Are you kicking me out? I just told you that we're good. We can still be friends Kiari." She says standing up as well.

"Riani, I don't want to be your fucking friend." I accidentally shout at her making me close my eyes and run a hand down my face. Im starting to get frustrated and she's just standing there clueless.

I need to calm down.

She takes a step back and folds her arms. "Yelling at me is crazy." She humorously laughs shaking her head.

"I didn't mean to yell. Just get out." I step away from the door.

She walks up to the door and I thought she was going to leave out but instead she shut the door.

"I'm not in the mood to play Riani. It's 8 o'clock and I have practice in the morning." I lean on the wall.

"You're being rude to me for no reason. What did I do?" She asks and I ignore her looking the other way.

"Just tell me what did I do."

"I don't want to be friends. I like you and I've been hinting at it, especially after the night at the pool and yet you keep calling us friends. I liked you since the first day that I saw you and I know it's wrong because I had a girlfriend at the time but it's the truth." I truthfully say and that must of caught her off guard cause she widened her eyes but I was just done of faking it.

"I didn't know that you liked me." She says quietly.

"You seriously didn't know?"

"I don't know. I mean It makes sense but in my mind it didn't."

"Why not?" I ask.

"Kiari, I see the girls that you be around and they definitely don't look like me. They're all mixed and lightskin, beautiful and tall. Like for example your ex." She said making me make a confused face.

"You don't think you're beautiful?" I furrow my brows.

"That's not what I'm saying- Kiari every girl that you're around doesn't look like me so can you really blame me for not noticing?"

"I didn't like them other girls and my ex don't count cause I don't like her anymore either."

She wasn't telling me that she liked me back.

She stayed quiet like she was in thought so I took a few steps closer to her.

She looked back over at me noticing me coming closer. "My type isn't mixed girls if that's what you're thinking about. My type is brownskin girls,  with pretty light brown eyes, shy but once you get to know her that's out the window, pretty white teeth with a beautiful smile and big glossed two toned lips." My eyes went to her lips.

She started to smile and bite her lip making me look back at her. I liked this girl so much that if she really doesn't like me back I'm done with girls until my fifty's.

My arms wrapped around her small waist as I waited for a reply back. Lord I hope I don't get rejected.

____

A/n- I got tired of the slow burn ngl but I been writing this other book and I'm almost done with so once I finish it imma publish it so the updates won't be slow like this book lmaoo